By Violet Li
Casey recorded the highest criminal offences since 2016 in the 2024 calendar year, according to the latest crime statistics.
A total of 27,285 offences were recorded in the year ending December 2024 in Casey, underlining a 16.6 per cent increase from the previous calendar year. The number has been the highest since 2016.
Victoria-wide, there were 605,640 criminal offences recorded in 2024, an increase of 15.7 per cent. This is also the highest crime rate since 2016.
In Casey, the house was where the highest number of offences took place, with a leading 41 per cent. Street, lane, and footpath had the second highest number of offences happening.
Cranbourne and Narre Warren topped the suburbs with the most offences, with an average of 3500 respectively. Berwick, Clyde North, and Hampton Park also topped the list.
The Casey area saw a sharp rise in burglary and break-and-enter last year, with a 25 per cent from 1665 to 2069. Non-residential areas bore the brunt of the significant rise.
Theft was another big issue for Casey, where the total number soared to almost 10,000 by 23 per cent. The subcategory of stealing from a motor vehicle had the highest number of offences last year, surging to 3826 by 35 per cent. Motor vehicle thefts had the highest increase rate in the wide theft category last year, reaching 1537 by 40 per cent.
The highest numbers of alleged offenders last year were in the age groups of 30 to 34 and 18 to 24.
The latest crime statistics also reflected the municipality’s long-standing family violence issues. Casey had the biggest number rise in the past four years, with a 14 per cent from 5451 to 6220. It has the highest number of family violence incidents among all Victorian municipalities.
Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Bob Hill said the overall crime rates in Victoria are totally unacceptable.
“The sad reality is that more crime equates to more victims involving members of the community, who in some cases, will be impacted for life,” he said.
“Last year, our hardworking officers made the most arrests since electronic records commenced in 1993, with more than 73,500 arrests in total or the equivalent of 201 per day. Despite this, crime continues to rise due to a range of complex issues impacting our state.
“We completely understand the community concerns around young offenders breaking into homes, stealing cars, and putting other people at risk on our roads.
“Be assured that police are arresting the state’s worst young offenders again and again – youth gang members, child car thieves and underage burglars were arrested 3,400 times last year as part of Operation Alliance and Operation Trinity.”
